This record is a much brighter release in terms of overall sound compared with Thank You Happy Birthday, which goes against the title of this release with Melophobia translating to “the fear or hatred of music”.
This comes after news of apparent in-fighting during the production stage of the record.
The album starts in a particularly dark fashion with the track ‘Spiderhead, a great opening track to pay homage to their previous records and at the same illustrate where they’re headed as a band.
Ben Schulz’s typically dark yet catchy lyrics are particularly good in this track: “and as you stand over my grave, tell me it’s okay,” with trademark distortion over the layered guitars throughout. Chaos meets precision in a strangely addictive way.
The band has said recently that they were heavily influenced by Modest Mouse for Melaphobia. This is clear when listening to ‘Take It Or Leave It’, the vocals which beg to be apart of a drunken sing-along, are backed up by a more than accommodating, swinging guitar riff.
‘Cigarette Daydreams’ give the listener an idea of the direction the band have looked to venture to in this record. It’s a very laid-back, sombre tune which showcases the bands versatility. ‘Telescope’ is another example of this new direction, it’s another very laid back rock jam which adds to the more mature sound the band looks to be going for.
This album is a brilliantly executed mix of classic rock, indie-rock and psychedelic rock all fused together with the trademark Cage The Elephant sound.
